The concept for a Krampus movie sounds so fun that I’m surprised it’s taken this long to get one in theatres at this point.
For those that don’t know, Krampus is a character from Austrian folklore who is essentially a demonic version of Santa Claus that rewards the good and punishes the bad, and not with coal.
Over the last couple of years Krampus has become more popular in America thanks to the internet, as people enjoy the darker contrast it offers to the otherwise jolly holiday of Christmas.
Even if the concept of evil Santa’s been done in media before doesn’t mean this holiday horror has nothing good to offer. But does Krampus punish the audience in this film adaptation by Michael Dougherty?
It’s almost Christmas time in the story, and a suburban family gets together with some relatives to celebrate the holidays. The main character is a boy named Max, who wants to continue the family’s Christmas traditions and to have a good time, but his Christmas Spirit is diminished due to conflicts with his family and their relatives.
Not too long after the power is cut from a blizzard, the legendary Krampus comes out to play. Max learns about the beast from his Austrian grandmother, who lost her parents to the beast when she was a child.
Max and his family must survive the onslaught of Krampus and his minions.
It’s become increasingly difficult for horror films to stay relevant in the cinema, but the concept of Krampus makes it more interesting than most, as it takes place near Christmas in a regular home rather than the overused possessed house, masked killer, or abandoned cabin settings.
It also sets itself more as a dark comedy, which fits very well for a concept like Krampus.
The design and idea behind Krampus is over the top, so there’s no point in taking everything completely seriously.
The visuals for Krampus are pretty well done too, combining practical and CGI effects in a way that gives it a Bmovie feel, which director Dougherty has some experience with.
I probably would have preferred it if it centered more on the dark comedy style, rather than try and balance a typical horror movie within it. Krampus isn’t in it for too long and it instead focuses on his minions for a number of scares.
Sure, in some cases, seeing the killer too much would take away some of the overall impact, but seeing too little makes me want to see him more.
A number of family members are also written obviously unlikable likely for the audience to get better satisfaction from them getting killed off. It’s a popular trope that’s also popped up in recent years in hits like Unfriended, and it’s one that I’m tired of. Even if the kill is satisfying that doesn’t mean the journey with these annoying characters is going to be good.
Also, they made the questionable decision to make this PG13, which detracts from both the dark comedy and horror aspect, especially with a ridiculous character and BMovie setup like this.
Sure, horror directors being allowed to cut loose doesn’t always lead to the best decisions, but with the way it was advertised and what it’s seen as, how many people went into this thinking it was going to be a PG13 movie?
I don’t see a lot of kids begging for their moms to take them to Krampus, especially when The Good Dinosaur and Mockingjay were in theatres at the time.
Krampus is a decent time that has fun with its horned Christmas creature, but is ultimately held back from balancing genres and ratings.
Just one look at Krampus’ design makes it eyebrow raising how this got a PG13 rating. If the director was allowed to cut loose in a few areas, we might have gotten an overall better product.
As it stands, it’s a fun concept that makes for a decent, but not great dark comedy horror flick.